About Herbert “Bertie” Hoover
Until the death of his parents, Hoover had an idyllic pioneer childhood in Iowa and the surrounding areas. He had a strict Quaker upbringing, but also experienced another side to pioneer life – learning the old ways of the Indigenous peoples. Bertie and his brother Tad spent a summer with with six young Osage Indian boys who attended the West Branch Indian Industrial School, where they learned Indian lore, how to hunt with a bow and arrow, how to fish with a bent pin, and how to cook on the lid of a tin can over a fire. Later, Bertie spent a summer on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma Indian Territory and attended the Indian school, side-by-side and friends with the Osage children. Another of his uncles, Laban Miles, was the Indian agent in Oklahoma.
Herbert Hoover was 6 years old when his father, Jesse, died of typhoid, and was 10 years old when his mother, Huldah, died of pneumonia. He was bounced from family member to family member, until his Uncle Minthorn, in 1885, wrote and asked for the young Herbert Hoover to be sent to the Minthorn family in Newberg, Oregon.
Uncle Minthorn, as superintendent of Friends Pacific Academy in Newberg, Oregon, was able to offer Hoover educational opportunities unavailable in West Branch, Iowa. Hoover earned a spot at Stanford University in its first, “Pioneer Class” in 1891 where he graduated with a degree in geology. Hoover met his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, while at Stanford. The day after their wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Hoover departed for Asia where Herbert successfully invested in mining and ore operations. By 1914, the Hoovers were semi-retired and living comfortably in London, England. At this time, Hoover helped enormously with relief efforts during World War I. Notably, Hoover delivered 34 million tons of American food, clothing, and supplies to American European allies after the 1918 armistice. Hoover also aided significantly during World War II relief efforts.
In 1929, Herbert Hoover was elected 31st President of the United States and his Vice President, Charles Curtis, was a member of the Kaw Nation, the first Native to hold this position. Hoover’s presidency was overshadowed by the stock market crash in September 1929, and the ensuing Great Depression. He was not re-elected to a second term. Herbert Hoover had a strong affinity for nature and outdoor pursuits that were cultivated in rural 19th-century Iowa. These ties to nature were strengthened in Oregon with its vast rivers, tall and abundant forests and its rugged mountains, many of which are stratovolcanoes. Hoover often returned to fly fish in Oregon, even as an adult, where he found solace, reflection, and solitude. In his memoirs Hoover writes, “Oregon lives in my mind for its gleaming wheat fields, its abundant fruit, its luxuriant forest vegetation, and the fish in the mountain streams. To step into its forests with their tangles of berry bushes, their ferns, their masses of wild-flowers stirs up odors peculiar to Oregon. Within these woods are never ending journeys of discovery.”
Herbert Hoover lived in the Newberg home of the Minthorns from 1885 to 1888. In 1888, the Minthorns moved to Salem and sold the house. Hoover moved to Salem with them.
Herbert Hoover was 6 years old when his father, Jesse, died of typhoid, and was 10 years old when his mother, Huldah, died of pneumonia. He was bounced from family member to family member, until his Uncle Minthorn, in 1885, wrote and asked for the young Herbert Hoover to be sent to the Minthorn family in Newberg, Oregon.
Uncle Minthorn, as superintendent of Friends Pacific Academy in Newberg, Oregon, was able to offer Hoover educational opportunities unavailable in West Branch, Iowa. Hoover earned a spot at Stanford University in its first, “Pioneer Class” in 1891 where he graduated with a degree in geology. Hoover met his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, while at Stanford. The day after their wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Hoover departed for Asia where Herbert successfully invested in mining and ore operations. By 1914, the Hoovers were semi-retired and living comfortably in London, England. At this time, Hoover helped enormously with relief efforts during World War I. Notably, Hoover delivered 34 million tons of American food, clothing, and supplies to American European allies after the 1918 armistice. Hoover also aided significantly during World War II relief efforts.
In 1929, Herbert Hoover was elected 31st President of the United States and his Vice President, Charles Curtis, was a member of the Kaw Nation, the first Native to hold this position. Hoover’s presidency was overshadowed by the stock market crash in September 1929, and the ensuing Great Depression. He was not re-elected to a second term. Herbert Hoover had a strong affinity for nature and outdoor pursuits that were cultivated in rural 19th-century Iowa. These ties to nature were strengthened in Oregon with its vast rivers, tall and abundant forests and its rugged mountains, many of which are stratovolcanoes. Hoover often returned to fly fish in Oregon, even as an adult, where he found solace, reflection, and solitude. In his memoirs Hoover writes, “Oregon lives in my mind for its gleaming wheat fields, its abundant fruit, its luxuriant forest vegetation, and the fish in the mountain streams. To step into its forests with their tangles of berry bushes, their ferns, their masses of wild-flowers stirs up odors peculiar to Oregon. Within these woods are never ending journeys of discovery.”
Herbert Hoover lived in the Newberg home of the Minthorns from 1885 to 1888. In 1888, the Minthorns moved to Salem and sold the house. Hoover moved to Salem with them.
* Herbert Hoover contributed in meaningful ways to the running of the Minthorn household and was often tasked with difficult chores. He would help clear the land of large three to four-foot diameter tree stumps and care for the farm animals at all hours of the day and night. However, the task Hoover most enjoyed was driving his uncle’s carriage and accompanying him on house calls to patients in the area.
Dr. Henry John Minthorn Portrait for Hoover-Minthorn House Museum
Dr. Henry John Minthorn Portrait for Hoover-Minthorn House Museum
Theodore, Herbert and Mary Hoover in Salem, OR in 1889
Theodore, Herbert and Mary Hoover in Salem, OR in 1889
Herbert Hoover with Dog for Hoover-Minthorn House
Herbert Hoover with Dog for Hoover-Minthorn House Museum
Herbert Hoover in the parlor of the Hoover Minthorn House Museum on dedication day on August 10, 1955
Herbert Hoover in the parlor of the Hoover-Minthorn House Museum on dedication day on August 10, 1955
